Lookout Cay Beach Wheelchairs?

[WLodgeLizard]

Not going to mention “the walk”, but in all of the videos I’ve seen, I didn’t see any beach wheelchairs. Has anyone seen or heard anything about them?

Thanks

 

[lanejudy]

They will have beach wheelchairs. Possibly they weren’t available for these preview cruises.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I am on a August cruise to Lookout Cay and called as soon as I saw the pier length— they actually couldn’t tell me what my transfer options would be yet (or if there was a safe place to store a wheelchair/ECV by the tram station) but they did keep reassuring me that there would be sand wheelchairs (I explained that I can walk short distances fine and did not need one, I just wanted to know if there was somewhere I could leave an ECV by the tram without risking damage from rain/sand). Hoping they will get the kinks worked out in the next few weeks.

 

[lanejudy]

Does Castaway Cay have a place to store personal wheelchairs/ECVs? I'm not sure. I know beach wheelchairs are available there as well, and it isn't as far a walk to the tram.

On Lookout Cay the pier is a good 1/2 mile long. They are offering golf cart rides for those with mobility issues -- a CM posted on to sign up at Guest Services the day before. The golf cart will take you down the pier to the tram.

 

[SteveMouse]

I’m curious if their golf carts accommodate power wheelchairs. I cannot use a generic manual chair. I also cannot transfer to a seat on a golf cart. At full charge, my power chair has a 6 mile range after 1 year (declining range as battery ages).

 

[lanejudy]

I’m curious if their golf carts accommodate power wheelchairs.

I don't think so; it looks like it would require a transfer. This probably isn't the best picture, but it's one that was shared earlier in the week:

I think the carts used for guests are the long ones with white noses. The green utility-style are for CMs and supplies heading to the island.

 

[SteveMouse]

I don't think so; it looks like it would require a transfer. This probably isn't the best picture, but it's one that was shared earlier in the week:
View attachment 867886
I think the carts used for guests are the long ones with white noses. The green utility-style are for CMs and supplies heading to the island.

Thanks!

 

[WLodgeLizard]

This is disappointing. We are on the Magic at the end of July. Here's to hoping they get the chairs before then.

No Beach Wheelchairs on Inaugural Cruise

 

[disneyfan'08]

Disney really failed here. This and how they handled it has changed our perception of DCL. We’ve sailed over 15 times. I was on the preview cruise. Only reason we booked was for Lookout Point and to give me a beach day/chance to go swimming as that’s not possible in my day to day life.

Over a month prior to our sailing I reached out to their special services department to inquire about beach wheelchairs. They were not sure, but reached out to another department. Few days later, they confirmed they will be there.

Not sure when they knew they weren’t going to have them, but there was no communication. We arrived and they are not there. First person just says they don’t have them. Then the “story” we were told onboard the island was they had wheelchairs with the wrong wheels? Which absolutely makes no sense as we’ve been ordering and dealing with wheelchairs for years.

They generally come as a unit. Even if they did, it was their CM that ordered said wheelchairs and their company chose the vendor. No excuses they should have been there.

Back onboard, we were told the wheels story wasn’t true and they didn’t arrive in time. Since we’ve been home, they’ve gone back to the they had wheelchairs, but they had the wrong wheels story.

We paid thousands for that cruise, we were only there to go to the beach at Lookout Point and that wasn’t possible. Before they confirmed beach wheelchairs, we were looking into alternatives.

One of the companies DCL partners with for scooter rentals onboard (I think it’s special needs group) actually rents beach wheelchairs too. Depending on your wheelchair, they sell adaptive kits to add beach wheels to your wheelchair. Once DCL confirmed them, we decided not to pursue either of the alternatives.

They seem to have no desire to fix this issue in a timely manner and if they wanted them there they could have found a way. I’ve seen they also haven’t been available for the DVC cruise which was the week after the Inaugural. It’s been over two weeks without them.

Also the family beach wheelchair accessible cabanas (Disney calls them ADA cabanas despite it being in the Bahamas and seemed to try to follow it), aren’t fully wheelchair accessible. They have a step down to the beach access.

 

[SteveMouse]

How frustrating!

I was on a multi-year project to convince Margaritaville Turks and Caicos to get a water wheelchair and got well into the corporate leadership levels. Several years ago, I suggested to local management that it would be an appropriate Christmas present to visitors and a birthday present to Jimmy- his birthday also happened to be Christmas Day, and we were typically there around or on Christmas.

Sadly, they declined. I'm pretty confident if Jimmy had gotten word, he would have personally flown one in.

Half Moon Cay. Holland America's private island, has historically had a couple of beach/water wheelchairs.

NCL's private island at least used to be pretty much inaccessible. Great Stirrup Cay doesn't have so much as a dock. Tenders that are a bit akin to landing craft just pull up onto the beach. It makes for a rustic experience for those that can manage the sand. I used to like it when I had more mobility. I also has other attachments to the island- my parents used to anchor off the beach every week when my father was a captain and my mother was crew for Windjammer cruises.

 

[WLodgeLizard]

Just got back from the Magic that stopped at LC on 7/31. They still do not have beach wheelchairs. We asked stopped at CC first and while we were there, we asked GS if they could possibly transport a beach wheelchair from CC to LC. They said that the beach wheelchairs on CC belong to CC and cannot be transported.

We still had an ok time at LC. We were fortunate to grab a table at one of the bars. It was the only table that had an umbrella. My wife and I took turns going to the water while the other stayed with our son. There was a ramp at the bar that led to the sand, with a beach chair nearby. However, it had rained earlier and we didn't want to get the wheels all sandy and risk getting stuck.

On the tram, you can easily see that the island is very new, but will be amazing after a few years.

I guess it was our mistake for going too early. If you need a wheelchair to get to the beach, I would recommend delaying your trip or just setting your expectations.

 

[lanejudy]

Thanks for the updated report! Sorry it wasn’t what you’d hoped.